Picnic PD Workshop Series

JHU faculty, teaching assistants, and staff are invited to attend the 2024 Picnic PD (Professional Development) with BSPH CTL series, which includes seven practical workshops centered around effective teaching, learning, and course development to address questions, gaps, or curiosities surrounding each topic.

The format will be 30-minutes of workshop followed by 30 minutes of Q&A.
- Attendees are free to only attend the workshop portion.
Workshops will be held virtually on Tuesdays, 12:00 PM, from June 18 to July 30.
Workshops across the series are standalone and not cumulative.
Recordings will be posted on our On-Demand Workshop Videos page.
If you have questions about the series, please reach out to the facilitators: Amy Pinkerton, Emily Haagenson, and Lauren Dana.

Registration

Zoom registration is required. Registration links for each workshop are on the CTL Events Calendar.

Schedule

Download the full Picnic PD Schedule poster [PDF].

Construct Knowledge Through Dialogue and Interaction

Date: Tuesday, June 18 at 12:00 PM ET
Mia Lamm, Senior Instructional Designer
Josh Francisco, Course Support Specialist

This workshop will introduce the significance of dialogue and interaction in the construction of knowledge. By attending this session, you will learn about the tools and techniques you can use to diversify your teaching methods and engage your learners more effectively.

Keywords: dialogue, interaction, engagement

Foster Belonging in Online Learning Environments

Date: Tuesday, June 25 at 12:00 PM ET
Keri McAvoy, Instructional Design Support Specialist
Heather Schwitalla, Instructional Designer

Human beings crave a sense of belonging and a desire to feel like an accepted member of a group. Fostering this type of welcoming learning environment is important as it allows students to feel emotionally connected and highly motivated to engage on a deeper level with course content. However, creating this type of environment can be especially difficult when teaching an online class. This workshop will go over teaching strategies for online courses that build a feeling of community which allows students to engage with course material in a meaningful way. You’ll walk away from this workshop with tangible artifacts to transform the learning environment of online classes from disengagement to a place of social belonging.

Keywords: belonging, community, connection

Create Meaning for Students through Critical Reflection

Date: Tuesday, July 2 at 12:00 PM ET
Amy Pinkerton, Senior Instructional Designer

Critical reflection is the process of making meaning by connecting academic content with personal experience and context. This workshop will equip you to help your learners create meaning in their academic work. Our session will delve into the advantages of critical reflection and explore practical techniques for integrating this valuable practice into online and in-person courses.

Keywords: Critical Reflection

Show Don't Tell: Incorporating Video into Your Course

Date: Tuesday, July 9 at 12:00 PM ET
Kevin Brennan, Senior Video Producer
Amy Pinkerton, Senior Instructional Designer

Join CTL’s Senior Video Producer, Kevin Brennan, in an overview of CTL video services and how best to use them in crafting or updating your courses. From zoom interviews at home to sending cameras and equipment to Congo to film relief workers, we will talk about what makes good video good, what advantages video has for you and your students, as well as how you can best take advantage of CTL’s video team as a resource to get from your ideas to finished products that can help support your courses for years to come.

Keywords: lecture, video, production, zoom, interviews, support, idea, conception

Ready to Engage: Fine Tuning your Presentation

Date: Tuesday, July 16 at 12:00 PM ET
Renee Dutton-O'Hara, Executive Audio Producer
Emily Haagenson, Instructional Designer

In this workshop, the executive audio producer and an instructional designer from CTL will synthesize everything you need to know to feel confident and comfortable presenting, delivering (and recording) PowerPoint-based lectures. If you are new to lecturing, new to recording online lectures, or eager to refresh your skills we will offer actionable tips as well as interactive examples and nonexamples to help inform your practice. You will leave the session with both speaking and technical presentation recommendations to help you improve your lecture delivery.

Keywords: lecture, presentation, recording

Nurture Classroom Connection: Tips for Writing Course Communication for Adult Learners

Date: Tuesday, July 23 at 12:00 PM ET
Emily Haagenson, Instructional Designer
Lauren Dana, Instructional Designer

Clearly and concisely communicating with adult learners reduces cognitive load and improves you and your students’ learning experience. This workshop will showcase practical communication strategies to help you facilitate transparent and effective course communication for an adult audience, from assignment directions to course emails.

Using realistic examples of course communication, we will then work together to apply practical tips to optimize your written communication. Finally, you will work individually to revise one course artifact using the knowledge you gained from the workshop with the support and guidance of CTL instructional designers.

Keywords: writing, audience, adult learners, communication

Three Ways to Use Generative AI in Your Public Health Teaching

Date: Tuesday, July 30 at 12:00 PM ET
Brian Klaas, Assistant Director for Technology

Generative AI has a lot of promise — and peril — in the context of education. In this interactive session, you'll look at three different ways that you can use generative AI in your teaching: scenario creation, quiz building, and student-centered reflection. You'll use generative AI tools like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot as we work through different exercises, and you’ll learn a little bit about how these tools work under the hood along the way.

Keywords: Teaching, Generative AI, ChatGPT